By Peggy Ployhar, SPED Homeschool Founder & CEO

 

As we are moving from a knowledge-hungry world to one that is saturated with information, I tell parents, now, more than ever before that it is less important to teach our children lots of memorized facts and more important to teach them how to discern information with wisdom. For this reason, our educational approaches at home need to change so our children are equipped with the ability to discern right from wrong and truth from lies.

 

“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ…”

Philippians 1:9-10

 

Yes, this truth from Philippians 1 has been my prayer for my own children and for you and your children as well. How do we make this shift and how do we teach discernment? 

 

Here are 5 simple tips for adjusting your homeschooling approach to teach discernment in an information saturated world:

 

Talk it Out

Talking with our children and teaching them that there is a foundational and God-established form of truth, in God’s word, lived out through examples of faithful Christian, and within historical documents based on a biblical foundation is something that we should talk about in our homes all the time and reminding our children of when we do our daily lesson. Just taking the time to talk about truth helps children to be aware of its existence and its importance as a basis for knowledge and discernment.

 

Live it Out

Our children learn more through how we live verses from what we say. It is extremely important that they see us seeking truth and basing our decisions on truth if we want them to do the same. Therefore, as parents we need to value discernment in our own lives if we want our children to value it enough to pursue it, use it, and live by it.

 

Point it Out

Everywhere we turn, there are examples we can pull from to point out discernment, or lack thereof, to our children. In family relationships, movies, books, social media posts, world events, and so many other things. We need to take advantage of these opportunities and point out how others are using, or not using, discernment, so our children can gain a greater understanding of this concept and how it is experienced in everyday life.

 

Call it Out

As your children make daily decisions based on the information they are processing, they will practice discernment. When they use good discernment, call it out and commend them for using it to make a wise decision. When they fail to use discernment, call it out and help them to see how their lack of discernment led to a less desirable outcome than if they had used discernment in that situation. Instructing your child based on their own life circumstances helps them to internalize the need to apply this discipline to work against their natural tendencies to believe and follow faulty thinking.

 

Pray it Out

Praying for our children to use discernment, to live by discernment, and seek the help of the Holy Spirit to see truth and “the way they should go” in every situation, is important at every stage of their education. Teaching our children and parenting them in truth have a limited range in our children’s lives, but God’s range to reach them, teach them, and guide them is boundless. Bring your request that your child live a discerning life before the Lord. This is a prayer He desires to answer.

 

I am praying with you and for you and your children in accordance with this truth from Isaiah 11 as you pursue to teach discernment and live by it in your homes empowered by God’s Spirit:

 

“The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,

The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,

The Spirit of counsel and might,

The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

His delight is in the fear of the Lord,

And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,

Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;”

Isaiah 11:2-3

 

Peggy Ployhar is the Founder & CEO of SPED Homeschool as well as the host of the weekly live broadcast, Empowering homeschool Conversations that you can watch on the SPED Homeschool YouTube channel or download from your favorite podcasting platform.

 

 

 

 


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 by Cheryl Swope, M.Ed., Simply Classical Curriculum, Myself & Others Curriculum, and Cheryl Swope Consulting

 

“My child doesn’t have special needs. They just have anxiety, depression, and OCD.” I often hear such statements. Parents sometimes wonder why a child struggles with learning when they don’t have “special needs,” as if only Down syndrome or severe autism impacts learning! 

 

As many of us can attest, any mental turmoil can dramatically affect a child’s ability to concentrate, perform consistently, and feel accomplished academically. Rather than ignore these issues, we would do well to take note. Mental health concerns appear to be on the rise for children. In a recent study of 8,000 teens in the United States in 2021, 44% say they feel “persistent feelings of sadness of hopelessness,” which is up from 26% in 2009. Even 29%, more than 1 in 4, seems high. The 2021 percentage – 44% – is the highest level of teenage depression ever recorded. 

 

One widespread cause seems clear. According to a Cambridge study of 84,000 individuals, social media use was strongly associated with worsening mental health. A particularly vulnerable group appears to be girls ages 11-13. Instagram’s own internal research noted that one-third of all teenage girls said “Instagram made them feel worse,” even though these girls “feel unable to stop themselves” from logging on. (Read more in The Atlantic April 13, 2022 article, “Why American Teens Are So Sad.”) 

 

What can we do? One straightforward antidote is simply going “cold turkey,” as we would with any addiction or compulsion, and substituting something much healthier and more satisfying. Church attendance, heart-to-heart conversations, good books, art classes, team sports, individual exercise like swimming or running, volunteering, or outings with friends will almost certainly, if only gradually, improve a child’s well-being. (Pair this with professional medical or integrative treatment as needed.)

 

Another culprit according to the writer of the article referenced above, is modern parenting. By extension, this may include modern homeschooling. Rather than teach our child to enjoy the uniquely gratifying pen-to-paper expression of writing by hand, we scribe all of their work for them. Rather than expose our dog-averse child to the neighbor’s easygoing Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, we shield them from all dogs. Rather than teach our resistant child to enjoy gratifying pen-to-paper written expression, we scribe all of their work for them. Rather than teach the child to set the table, make their bed, or empty the dishwasher, we do all of these things for them. Rather than introduce the vegetables, fats, and proteins they needs for optimal brain health, we allow the sugary snacks or textures they prefer. Rather than invite an agreeable child to play, we avoid playdates altogether. We give the child the impression that we do not think they can handle much at all. 

 

Persistent rescuing emboldens anxiety and may worsen other conditions. We convey our anxiety about their anxiety and only compound the problem. When a child is depressed and wants to be alone, we can honor their request at times, but we also need to plan enjoyable outings, active sports, or nature walks. We can also make a point of visiting others who need cheering. For the obsessive child, such social distractions often help. For example, when a child compulsively checks something a certain number of times, to “prevent” doom from befalling a family member,  we can work with a therapist to include exposure techniques that embolden the child to see the fallacy of their previous thinking. When they learn that all will be well even when they do not check, they can better enjoy the freedom to allow themselves not to engage in such checking and spend their time in pursuits that truly do help others. 

 

Consider these resources to help with the above:

 

Accommodations have become an understandable norm of good parenting, but we need to be careful. The desired result of parenting is not the absence of all uncomfortable feelings, but rather the resilience to carry on in spite of them. Let’s return to what we know: Children need good playmates, even if they cannot yet manage to establish true “friends.” Children need to build competence academically, even if this requires step-by-step instruction. Children need to learn that they can happily and freely live outside of the little screen on any device to see the real world around them. They can be brave, capable, and thoughtful toward others, as this may be the best and surest way to overcome sadness and hopelessness. As we help our children see their purpose, we can reintroduce our children to the importance of becoming strong, resilient people in their families, churches, and neighborhoods who love, care for, and appreciate those around them with greater confidence, compassion, and cheer.

Cheryl Swope, M.Ed., is the author of Simply Classical: A Beautiful Education for Any Child (Memoria Press, 2nd edition, 2019) and the Simply Classical Curriculum (Memoria Press) for children with mental, physical, and emotional special needs. She and her husband live in a quiet lake community in Missouri with their adult twins who have autism and schizophrenia and who serve others in numerous ways.

 

 

 

 


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